Alongside Simon, the show's creator, head writer , showrunner , and executive producer , much of the creative team behind The Wire were alumni of Homicide and Primetime Emmy Award -winning miniseries The Corner . The Corner veteran, Robert F. Colesberry , was executive producer for the first two seasons and directed the season 2 finale before dying from complications from heart surgery in 2004. He is credited by the rest of the creative team as having a large creative role for a producer, and Simon credits him for achieving the show's realistic visual feel. [1] He also had a small recurring role as Detective Ray Cole . [23] Colesberry's wife Karen L. Thorson joined him on the production staff. [13] A third producer on The Corner , Nina Kostroff Noble also stayed with the production staff for The Wire rounding out the initial four-person team. [13] Following Colesberry's death, she became the show's second executive producer alongside Simon. [24]

So to gear up, they produced a four-track mixtape pairing a rising star with a venerable sound on Equiknoxx Introduces Masicka to King Tubby EP. It was huge with their sudden Polish fan base, the kind of European hardcore reggae crowd that knows the no. 1 tune in Jamaica on any given week.